Landsailers are well known recreational transport devices which utilise sail power for propulsion. The use of landsailers has gained in popularity over recent times as a recreational and sporting activity.
In comparing landsailers to yachts, a fundamental difference is that yachts can easily heal over in response to lateral forces applied by the wind on the sails. This healing action helps to absorb impact forces caused by changes in wind strength as well as reducing the apparent area of the sail or sails. As a landsailer must travel over solid ground, its ability to heal over in response to these lateral forces is limited. If the land vehicle does heal over it tends to be unstable as its resistance to movement is low and hence the landsailer tends to capsize.
Thus, if there is a sudden gust of wind or a sudden change in wind angle, then there is a risk that the landsailer will capsize. One situation where this is particularly apparent is when the landsailer is travelling at a low speed relative to the wind velocity. If the landsailer attempts to gybe at this low speed, the shock of the sail and boom moving into the new position can be sufficient to capsize the landsailer. This risk of capsizing limits the manoeuvrability of the landsailer, creating a disadvantage, particularly in a race situation.
Other factors which influence the performance of a landsailer include the weight of the body of the landsailer in proportion to its sail area and whether the sail can be maintained with accurate camber to give optimum power from the sail.
A problem with landsailers is that they are typically large and therefore difficult to store, handle and transport. This can reduce the enjoyment of use of the landsailer for recreational purposes. Also, many landsailers are difficult and time consuming to erect. Further, landsailers at present are typically complex devices which involve significant costs of manufacture.